Hauwei unveiled some pretty snazzy phones at CES
last month, but the company isn’t done trying to impress smartphone buyers
around the world. At Mobile World Congress Huawei unveiled the Ascend P2, a
follow up to the P1, that bears the promise of being the world’s fastest
smartphone. The speediness Huawei claims is not just in the processor, but in
the data connection as well. By utilizing LTE Cat-4 generation networking, the
P2 can achieve speeds of 150 megabits per second (the iPhone 5 gets 100Mbps).
The Ascend P2 even charges faster thanks to 2-amp charging that gets the
battery full in less time.

With it’s 4.7-inch display featuring 500 nits of
brightness to show off a heavily customized UI on top of Android, the Ascend P2
is in direct competition with Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and the new HTC
One. Here’s how it compares:

Ascend
P2

Galaxy S3

HTC One

Size

8.4 thick (mm)

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 (mm)

137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 (mm)

Weight

122g

133g

143g

Screen

4.7-inch IPS

4.8-inch Super AMOLED

4.7-inch LCD

Resolution

1280×720 pixels

1280×720 pixels

1080p

OS

Android 4.1 with Emotion UI

Android 4.1 with TouchWiz UI

Android 4.1.2 with Sense 5

Storage

16GB

16/32GB

32/64GB

SD Card Slot

TK

Yes

No

Processor

1.5GHz quad-core

Dual-core Snapdragon S4 (US)

Quad-core Snapdragon 600

RAM

1GB

2GB

2GB

Connectivity

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+

Camera

Front 1.3MP, Rear 13MP

Front 1.9MP, Rear 8MP

Front 2.1MP, Rear 4MP

Bluetooth

Yes

Yes, version 4.0

Yes, version 4.0

Battery

2420mAh

2100mAh

2300mAh

Charger

Micro USB

Micro USB

Micro USB

Marketplace

Google Play Store

Google Play Store

Google Play Store

Price

€399

$200+

TBA

Availability

Orange (EU), unlocked (US)

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mob, Verizon

AT&T, T-Mob, Verizon

The Ascend P2 holds up well in comparison to the
new HTC One flagship phone, and out-specs the Galaxy S3 (admittedly an “old”
handset) in several areas. What’s surprising is that the P2 doesn’t have full
1080p resolution, which is the trend for new Android smartphones in this size
class. It’s great that the phone has wide viewing angles, can be used even with
gloves like the new Nokia Lumias, and is protected by Gorilla Glass. Will the
lack of full HD matter to everyone?

Huawei is taking the same route as Samsung, HTC,
and even LG in putting a heavily customized skin over Android and bundling in a
ton of apps and services to enhance the Android experience. Some people love
this approach and others really hate it, so the Emotion UI may prove
polarizing. That 1GB of RAM could prove a problem in this area.

The 13 megapixel camera on the back is
another of Huawei’s selling points. As HTC reminded us recently, megapixel
count isn’t the only thing that determines pixel quality. The promise of HDR
(high dynamic range) photos and video plus sharper pictures using digital zoom
point to a camera that will give even HTC’s ultrapixels some competition.